Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004Show full title

Article 4 U.K.

1. All animals on a holding born after 9 July 2005 [F1 or for Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia the respective date of accession] shall be identified in accordance with paragraph 2 within a period to be determined by the [F2 appropriate Minister] as from the birth of the animal and in any case before the animal leaves the holding on which it was born. That period shall not be longer than six months.

By way of derogation [F3 the appropriate Minister] may extend the period, which may not, however, exceed nine months, for animals kept in extensive or free-range farming conditions.F4 ... F5 ...

2. (a) Animals shall be identified by a first means of identification which complies with the requirements of Section A.1 to A.3 of the Annex, and,

(b) by a second means of identification approved by the competent authority and conforming to the technical characteristics listed in Section A.4 of the Annex.

(c) However, until the date referred to in Article 9(3), the second means of identification may be replaced by the system set out in Section A.5 of the Annex, except in the case of animals involved in [F6 export to a Member State].

F7 (d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. However for animals intended for slaughter before the age of 12 months and intended neither for [F6 export to a Member State] nor for export to third countries, the identification method described in Section A.7 of the Annex may be authorised by the competent authority as an alternative to the means of identification mentioned in paragraph 2.

4. Any animal imported from a third country, which has undergone after 9 July 2005 [F1 or for Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia the respective date of accession] the checks laid down by Directive 91/496/EEC and which remains within the territory of [F8 Great Britain] shall be identified, in accordance with paragraph 2, at the holding of destination where livestock farming is carried out within a period, to be determined by the [F9 appropriate Minister], of no more than 14 days from undergoing those checks and, in any event, before leaving the holding.

The original identification established by the third country shall be recorded in the holding register provided for in Article 5 together with the identification code allocated to it by the [F10 competent authority].

However, the identification provided for in paragraph 1 is not necessary for an animal intended for slaughter if the animal is transported directly from the veterinary border inspection post to a slaughterhouse F11 ... where the checks referred to in the first subparagraph are carried out and the animal is slaughtered within five working days of undergoing those checks.

5. Any animal originating in [F12 a] Member State shall retain its original identification.

6. No means of identification may be removed or replaced without the permission of the competent authority. Where a means of identification has become illegible or has been lost, a replacement bearing the same code shall be applied as soon as possible in accordance with this Article. In addition to the code and distinct from it, the replacement may bear a mark with the version number of the replacement.

However, the competent authority may, under its control, allow the replacement means of identification to bear a different code, provided that the objective of traceability is not compromised, in particular in the case of animals identified in accordance with paragraph 3.

7. The means of identification shall be allocated to the holding, distributed and applied to the animals in a manner determined by the competent authority.

F13 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9. Until the date referred to in Article 9(3), [F14 where the appropriate Minister has] introduced electronic identification on a voluntary basis in accordance with the provisions of Section A.4 and A.6 of the Annex [F15 , the appropriate Minister] shall ensure that the individual electronic identification number and the characteristics of the means used are mentioned in the relevant certificate pursuant to Directive 91/68/EEC accompanying animals involved in [F6 export to a Member State].

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Council Regulation (EU) No 517/2013 of 13 May 2013 adapting certain regulations and decisions in the fields of free movement of goods, freedom of movement for persons, company law, competition policy, agriculture, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, transport policy, energy, taxation, statistics, trans-European networks, judiciary and fundamental rights, justice, freedom and security, environment, customs union, external relations, foreign, security and defence policy and institutions, by reason of the accession of the Republic of Croatia.

F2 Words in Art. 4(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(b); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F3 Words in Art. 4(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(c)(i); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F4 Words in Art. 4(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(c)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F5 Words in Art. 4(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Animals (Legislative Functions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/588), regs. 1, 5(4) (with reg. 12); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F6 Words in Art. 4 substituted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F7 Art. 4(2)(d) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(d); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F8 Words in Art. 4(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(e)(i)(aa) (as substituted by S.I. 2020/1388, regs. 1(2)(a), 33(3)(b)); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F9 Words in Art. 4(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(e)(i)(bb); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F10 Words in Art. 4(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(e)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F11 Words in Art. 4(4) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(e)(iii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F12 Word in Art. 4(5) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(f); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F13 Art. 4(8) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(g); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F14 Words in Art. 4(9) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(h)(i); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F15 Words in Art. 4(9) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Livestock (Records, Identification and Movement) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/814), regs. 1, 10(5)(h)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)